Osman Mirghani: Arabs neglect their 20 million handicapped

When one visits a western country, he can see disabled people in the streets, and on buses and trains, and in supermarkets and offices, meeting their own needs and living their lives without feeling isolated or alone. As for our Arab world, we hardly see people with special needs in the street for in most cases they are prisoners in their own homes, unable to leave the house and move around due to the absence of facilities, or they are socially excluded and under the legal guardianship of hospitals and private clinics. MORE HERE

Morocco expelled 100+ missionaries in past 3 months

Morocco has expelled 100 foreign Christians since March because they allegedly tried to convert Muslims, the harshest crackdown in decades, Worthy News learned Saturday, May 22. Morocco's Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq said in published remarks that the deportations, were needed for "order and calm" and to avoid a clash between faiths.

The latest expulsion was that of Spaniard Francisco Paton Millan, the head of a small energy company, who was ordered last week to leave the country for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, church workers and European diplomats said. MORE HERE

Pakistan blocks 'blasphemous' web pages

Pakistan has blocked 800 web pages and URLs to limit access to "blasphemous" material, extending a crackdown that has already banned access to Facebook and YouTube, an official said yesterday. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) banned access to Facebook, YouTube and other links, which included restricted access to Wikipedia, in view of what it called "growing sacrilegious content" this week.
"At least 800 individual web pages and URLs have been blocked since the government's orders to shut Facebook and YouTube," Wahaj us Siraj, a spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan said.
Mr Siraj's remarks came hours after the Facebook user who organised an "Everyone Draw Mohammed Day" competition to promote "freedom of expression" evidently took down the page along with a separate blog about the campaign. MORE HERE

Interview with Gaza's Army of Islam - Palestine is an Islamic Waqf

"Salafism is not only in Gaza, it is all over Palestine and needs no license to practice in the heart of Tel Aviv or in Washington," Jaish Al-Islam (Army of Islam) leader Omer Al-Ansari told Ma'an during an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

"But enough about the movement, its time to move is subject to its men and their ability to stand in the face of the tyrannies," Al-Ansari said from his secret hideout and weapons store, settling in for an in-depth discussion on the relationship of the movement to Al-Qaeda, tensions with the ruling Hamas party, and its vision for the Palestinian national struggle. MORE HERE

Morocco continues to expel Christian expats

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that 23 foreigners have been notified of expulsion from Morocco since May 10, marking a second wave of Christian deportations from the country.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Morocco in an interview with ICC said, “We are very concerned about this.  While there were fewer Americans in this round than there were in the first round of this in early March, we’re still following it very closely, and we have expressed concern, as have other diplomatic missions here, to the Moroccan authorities about this.

The recent notifications of expulsion are officially attributed to proselytizing, which is illegal under Moroccan law.  Earlier this year, the enforcement of anti-proselytizing laws resulted in the deportations of approximately 40 US citizens and many other foreign expatriates from Morocco.  However, Moroccan authorities have refused to explain the charges.  “[The Moroccan government] has been very cagy about really giving any information to people, which has been disturbing,” said the US Embassy spokesman.  “But we understand it’s all based on alleged proselytizing.” MORE HERE

Sudan arrests Hassan al-Turabi - again

Sudanese authorities arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi (picture) at his home late on Saturday, a month after the country's first competitive elections in 24 years, his secretary said.
"At around midnight (2100 GMT), a group of security officers arriving in three cars, came and took Hassan al-Turabi from his home," Awad Babakir told AFP.
Turabi, once President Omar al-Beshir's mentor but now one of his fiercest critics, had denounced last month's elections as fraudulent and said his Popular Congress Party would not join a future government.
Beshir was declared winner in Sudan's first multi-party election since 1986, a vote marred by an opposition boycott, logistical problems and accusations of fraud. MORE

Arab Egypt and Sudan vs. Africa over Nile water

A controversial deal has been signed to share the waters of the world's longest river.  But Egypt and Sudan are not happy at four African countries signing a new deal on the Nile.  Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania signed the new framework on Friday while Kenya issued a support statement. Ten nations share the resources of the river.

Colonial-era agreements gave the biggest share of water to the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.  But as Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall explains, upstream nations are now pushing for a greater share. Watch this TV programs here